Agricultural land occupies approximately 38% of the planet's land surface
and the spread and intensification of agriculture are recognised as two
of the most important global threats to wildlife.

Farming in Uganda in undergoing a massive series of changes. One of the main
pillars of the Ugandan governments commitment to eradicate poverty is
to modernize farming by improving crop husbandry and increasing farmer
access to suitable markets. These changes will inevitably impact on
biodiversity.

In April 2005, BTO was awarded a
grant by the Darwin Initiative to investigate this problem, determine
how the changes in farming will impact on birds, invertebrates and/or
plants and devise methods of mitigating some of these negative effects.

THE PROJECTThis four-year project formally ended in 2009, although
many of the results are still being worked on. The project
was
carried out in the banana-coffee arc around Lake Victoria. The aim was to identify
a series
of
best
practices
for sustainable
agricultural development
that benefit both biodiversity and farmer. This wide-ranging project had major
research, capacity building and dissemination aspects.

The final report is available here. For further
information, please contact Phil Atkinsonhere

LATEST
NEWS

August 2010: PhD awarded!
Theodore Munyuli had his viva voce examination and scored extremely highly in the examination. With only some minor corrections he will be awarded his PhD. Congratulations Theo!

July 2010: Updating policy briefs
With both PhD students having submitted their theses, we will be producing a new policy brief with data collected from the project. The previous version produced at the end of the project be downloaded here